The Zenos E10 has returned… but it now costs £115k+

Good news! British sportscar-maker Zenos has returned with its lovely little E10 open-topped roadster, after going into administration back in 2017 and falling off the radar.

Potentially Financially Ruinous News! There are but two models on offer with this comeback, and the 300bhp E10 r2 starts from – and we hope you’re sitting down for this one – £115,900. One hundred and fifteen grand.

The range-topping 380bhp Zenos E10 rZ is even more expensive, starting at £129,900. Wowsers.

Both cars apparently retain “the core elements of what was already a highly effective design” – a design that back in 2017 cost around £45k. Even allowing for the hyperinflation of the last decade, a hundred big ones is a lot of money.

So what do you get for the price of a Porsche 911 Carrera T? Well, the base Zenos E10 r2 gets a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-pot with that 300bhp we mentioned (at 6,000rpm) and 313lb ft, inside a car weighing just 790kg.

So that’s a power-to-weight ratio of 380bhp-per-tonne. It’ll reel off 0-62mph in 3.8s and top out at 150mph. Quicker to 62mph than the 911, but slower at the top.

Then comes the E10 rZ – for more than a ‘new’ Alpine A110R 70 (from dealer stock) – which also gets a blown four-pot, this time a 2.0-litre, allowing for 380bhp and 376lb ft, a 0-62mph time of 3.2s, 150mph top end, and a power-to-weight ratio of 480bhp-per-tonne.

There’s pushrod suspension with inboard-mounted dampers up front, coilovers at the back, a six-speed gearbox somewhere in the middle, a limited slip diff, lots of carbon fibre in both the body and the tub, new lights, indicators, side skirts, winglets, dash, and even weatherproof switchgear. Y’know, cos there’s no roof.

Bigger brakes than the last time too, along with some dandy new colourways and the option of something more bespoke. You can option it up as either left- or right-hand-drive.

“With a raft of enhancements across the car, the 2027 Zenos E10 range provides high-performance and advanced engineering at a time when new, pure-bred sports cars are increasingly rare,” said Zenos.

“Unashamedly petrol powered, the two turbocharged models offer a phenomenally effective power-to-weight ratio.” Also phenomenally pricey, too.